Understanding the Vocera HL7 Adapter Rules

An HL7 rule specifies how to generate (and send) a single message when an event occurs. An outbound connection must be specified on the Vocera HL7 Adapter instance for the rule in order to send the message.

When the Vocera HL7 Adapter is triggered to send messages to a recipient, an HL7 rule defines the parameters used to formulate the message. The HL7 rule is defined on a dataset, and builds an HL7 message from the dataset record (including linked records) that triggered the rule.

See the Vocera Platform Dataset Guide for information about working with rules. See Configuring a Vocera HL7 Adapter for information about the adapter settings.

In the Adapter Settings, configure the Rule Settings fields to manage building the message.

Message Type

Click the Build from Message Type field and select a Message Type from the dropdown list that displays. In the example below, the Message Type of ADT is selected.

Once the Message Type is selected, the Select an event... field appears. Click on the field to display a dropdown menu, and choose from the events associated with the Message Type selected above. In the example below, the Event of A01 is selected.

Once the Event Type is selected, the Application Identifier field appears. This is an optional entry field, and the entry is used in the MSH segments Field 3 (sending application) and possibly in Field 5 (receiving application). The identifier is expected to contain a GUID, or two GUIDs separated by an underscore ('_') character. The identifier will be split at the underscore character and the second GUID will be used as the receiving application.

If desired, select a new Message Type and Event in the Build from Message Type fields to replace this definition. Generating a new definition will replace the existing configuration in the Message Type field.

Setting Description
Message Type The HL7 Message Type to send. This will be used as the message type (MSH field 9) in the outgoing message. This is a required field.
Application Identifier The value to use for the HL7 sending application (MSH field 3). If the value contains an '_', then the part after it will be used as the receiving application (MSH field 5).

Segment Definitions

At least one segment definition must be provided for a message definition. Each segment definition will cause a single segment (or more if Repeating Link Path is configured) to be added to the message.

Note: All HL7 messages build their MSH segments with an internal segment definition. All existing MSH segment definitions are ignored.

Click Add Segment Definition to create additional segments. A New Segment Definition expansion box will appear at the bottom of the segment list. Drag and drop segment definitions to re-order the list; for example, you might select the New Segment Definition and drag it to the top of the list for configuration.

Expand an existing segment definition to edit the configuration. Links at the bottom of this field are provided to remove a segment definition, remove the last field definition, and add a field definition.

Setting Description
Name The HL7 name of the segment definition to be generated. This field is automatically populated if the segment is generated from the Message Type selection options. This is a required field.
Repeating Link Path This optional field specifies a link path relative to the triggering object and determines the number of instances of the segment to generate, based on the number of linked objects found at that path. One instance of the segment will be generated for each object found using the path.

Field Definitions

At least one field definition must be configured for a segment definition. Each field definition defines the content of the corresponding field in the segment.

Expand an existing field definition to edit the configuration. Configure a field definition as described in the table below. In this example, the ROL segment definition will use the role.name attribute path in the message content to send.

Setting Description
Content Type Indicates how the information specified in the Content field will be used when generating the field for the message. Content Type options are Attribute Paths, Text, Sequence Number (described below). This is a required field.
Attribute Paths: Indicates that the field content is treated as a set of attribute paths rooted in the triggering object. Constant text can be placed in single or double quotes. HL7 separators should not use quotation marks. This option is recommended over the Text option unless the field contains fixed text.
Text: Indicates that the field content contains the exact text to be placed in the field. Any HL7 separators will be included without quotation marks.
Sequence Number: Indicates the field will contain a sequentially generated segment identifier. This option should be used when the Repeating Link Path value is set for the segment and the field is defined to be a "Set ID". If present, the field content will contain the first value to use (default value is 1).
Content The content to be sent for the message; the interpretation of this content depends on the Content Type value selected above. Use the default HL7 separators; ^ for components and & for subcomponents.

List of Messaging Specifications

ADT, ORM, ORU message details are published in the Understanding HL7 Messaging Specifications. This page describes each message type by segment, field, component, description, field type, and its required status.